Opponents of Proposition 8 plan to carry on the fight

Gay rights advocates and supporters pledged a statewide cultural war Tuesday in additional to legal battles to overturn the California Supreme Court decision upholding the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.

A series of planned marches and protests Tuesday night across the state was the first sign of that campaign to repeal Proposition 8, which voters approved last November.

In West Hollywood, an estimated 15,000 people appeared at a rally and march, with political supporters including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who said he was confident voters will support another amendment reversing Prop. 8.

"We're going into every neighborhood, every city. We're going into every institution to have this conversation about the right of my first cousin John to have a family," Villaraigosa said in a statement after the Supreme Court ruling. He was referring to his cousin, Assemblyman John Perez, D-Los Angeles, who is openly gay.

"The right of men and women who only want one thing - the right to love, the right to a family - something so basic to all of us."

This morning two high profile attorneys who represented opposite sides in the 2000 presidential election are scheduled to announce they are teaming up to file a federal suit to overturn Prop. 8.

Attorneys Theodore Olson and David Boies filed the suit Friday on behalf of two gay couples who wish to marry - Paul Katami and Jeffrey Zarrillo of Burbank and Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier of Berkeley - according to the Advocate newspaper.

In its decision announced Tuesday, the state Supreme Court rejected arguments that Proposition 8, passed by the voters last fall, was such a fundamental change that it qualified as a constitutional revision - not just an amendment - and therefore needed to first go before lawmakers.

Writing for the 6-1 majority, Chief Justice Ronald George said that denying gay couples the word "marriage" does not have "a substantial or, indeed, even a minimal effect on the governmental plan or framework of California."

In defending the state's initiative process, George also noted it was voters' approval of ballot measures that led to women's voting rights, the reinstatement of the state's death penalty and legislative term limits.

Anticipating Tuesday's court decision, gay-rights advocates have discussed putting another constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2010 or 2012 to try to repeal Proposition 8.

"We will become the love warriors now. We will be an army of love warriors," said Robin Tyler of North Hills, an organizer of gay rights protests planned around the state.

Tyler and her partner Diane Olson were among the plaintiffs for the case in which the court upheld Prop. 8, but also left intact the 18,000 marriages that took place prior to the measure's passage.

At the West Hollywood rally, gay-rights activists promised a more aggressive political effort than the campaign during the Prop. 8 election, which some critics say started late and lacked strong organization. "We've got to take the fight to the streets," said activist Valerie Wagner. "We've got to take the message home to our families and friends and our foes." Many in the crowd chanted "2010, 2010" in reference to next year's ballot. Actress Drew Barrymore told the crowd she has been surrounded by and "defined by" gay people her whole life. "Children need families," Barrymore said. "People need to feel loved. And we should not take a step backward."

Lawrence Becker, a political expert at California State University, Northridge, said that conceivably the ballot amendment battle could be endless - though he senses momentum in favor of gay marriage.

"I suspect the tide of history is on the side of same-sex marriage becoming constitutional and legal in the state," said Becker. "And if I had to bet, I would think it would be fairly soon.

"I think they'll get the measure to repeal Proposition 8 on the ballot next year, and my intuitive sense tells me they'll be able to repeal Proposition 8 as more voters think about the issue, what's at stake, and more and more (voting) on the side of allowing same sex-marriage."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he will carry out the Supreme Court's ruling, although he personally supports same-sex marriage.

"I believe that one day either the people or courts will recognize gay marriage," the governor said in a statement.

Meanwhile, supporters of Proposition 8, which was approved by voters, 52 percent to 48 percent, said they will be just as adamant in defending the court's decision. They noted that Prop. 8 was the second time voters decided marriage should be only between a man and a woman, after the approval of Proposition 22 in 2000.

"This is the culmination of years of hard work to preserve marriage in California," said Andrew Pugno, attorney for the Yes on Proposition 8 group, ProtectMarriage.com.

"Hundreds of thousands of volunteers worked diligently to uphold the institution of marriage. Twice, voters have decided the marriage in California should be only between a man and a woman.

"We are extremely pleased that the Supreme Court has acknowledged the right of voters to define marriage in the California Constitution. The voters have decided this issue and their views should be respected."

"The California Supreme Court accurately interpreted the law - rather than legislating from the bench," Antonovich said in a written statement.

"This action reaffirms the will of the people as expressed in the 2000 and 2008 statewide elections."

Same-sex marriage supporters, however, pledged to continue their legal and political fight.

"Today's decision is a terrible blow to same-sex couples who share the same hopes and dreams for their families as other Californians," said Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, who argued the case before the court.

"But our path ahead is now clear. We will go back to the ballot box and we will win."

For Tyler and Olson, the North Hills couple who were married last summer, the court decision came as bittersweet news.

Both women said it was hard to take any satisfaction in having their marriages upheld while other same-sex couples will have their rights denied.

"It's half good," said Olson upon hearing the decision at the Los Angeles law offices of attorney Gloria Allred, who represented the couple and others in the case that overturned the state's same-sex marriage laws last summer.

Olson is a granddaughter of former California Governor Culbert L. Olson, who served from 1939-1943.

"A loss," said Tyler, fighting back tears. "I'm as upset as if our marriage had been taken away."